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RANCHI: Removal of 5.46 lakh women from the beneficiary list of ‘Maiyaan Samman Yojana’ has sparked a political row in Jharkhand.
The mass-elimination of such a large number of women has intensified the already simmering feud between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), accusing each other of exploiting women for political gains.
BJP on Monday, made a scathing attack on the state government over the decision to remove 5.46 lakh women from the list of beneficiaries, calling it a betrayal of trust.
BJP spokesperson Rafia Naz accused the Hemant Soren-led government of using poor women as a vote bank during elections and then discarding them once the elections were over.
“This is a clear case of fraud; first, they were given money by including them into the scheme to gain votes, and now they’re humiliating them by calling them ineligible. If even a single rupee is recovered from these women, the BJP will launch a statewide protest,” said Rafia Naz.
Hemant Soren government get votes by giving money to the women, but then extorts from them after coming to power – this is their real character, she added.
Rafia further added that these women were made to stand in long queues, many of them barefoot, clinging to the hope of support. “Now they’re being labelled ineligible? Will they be forced to take loans to return the so-called wrongful benefits?” she asked.
Rafia warned, “The government must now stop cheating in the name of the Maiya Samman Yojana and if any money is extorted from even one sister or daughter, we will raise the voice of our sisters and daughters from the streets to the Parliament in such a way that the government’s eardrums will shake.”
JMM, on the other hand, defended the BJP’s allegations, arguing that the move was part of a clean-up operation to remove ineligible applicants due to errors in Aadhaar linkage and documentation.
Party spokesperson Vinod Pandey accused the BJP of spreading misinformation to mislead the public.
“The scheme has benefited nearly 58-60 lakh women, and our government has been working to ensure fair implementation without discrimination,” said Vinod Pandey.
“The BJP is doing what it does best—creating confusion and obstructing progress,” said Pandey. He added that ensuring genuine beneficiaries receive support should be the government’s top priority, and that the integrity of welfare delivery must be maintained.
With the controversy gaining momentum, the fate of the 5.46 lakh women now excluded from the scheme has become a flashpoint in Jharkhand’s volatile political landscape.
Maiyan Samman Yojna is Hemant Soren Government’s flagship programme under which women between the age group of 18-49 get Rs 2500 every month.
Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore has tabled the annual Budget of Rs 1, 45,400 crore for FY 2025-26 in the Jharkhand Assembly on March 3, out or which Rs 13,363 crore has been allocated for the Maiyan Samman Yojana.